1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with improved floor assemblies for use in constructing thermal processing cabinets or houses such as smokehouses and chillers. More particularly, the invention is concerned with such floor assemblies, weldment frames forming a part of the floor assemblies, and completed thermal processing cabinets wherein the problems of unwanted liquid collection and inadequate load-bearing capacities are overcome.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thermal processing of food products such as meat involves the cooking and/or chilling of these products in an upright cabinet or house. The products are placed on carriers with the latter being positioned within the cabinet or house for cooking, smoking, or chilling. The carriers may be wheeled or moveable by a forklift. The product carriers can be very heavy and accordingly the cabinet or house floor must support this weight. If the carriers are moved using a forklift, the floor must also be able to accommodate the additional weight of the forklift.
Thermal processing cabinets or houses commonly have a floor provided with a stainless steel sheet metal tread surface. Accordingly, structure must be provided for adequately supporting the tread surface. In the case of cabinets or houses with light carrier loadings, an insulated panel floor may be used. However, where heavier loadings and/or forklift weights must be accommodated, a concrete sub-floor is usually necessary.
A common method of constructing a concrete floor assembly for a thermal processing cabinet or house begins with pouring a concrete foundation having a recess large enough to accept the footprint of the cabinet or house. Such recesses are typically formed at a depth of around 2.5 inches, with one or more drain openings. Next, the cabinet or house walls are set into the recess and a pre-formed gridwork of angle iron (typically stainless steel) is placed within the confines of the cabinet or house walls and is secured to the concrete using fasteners. The gridwork is constructed to present sloped upper most surfaces leading to the drain(s). A drain fitting is next installed, followed by a second pour of concrete covering the gridwork. The second pour is then screeded to the top surface of the gridwork to provide a drainage surface, and the tread plate is then installed by welding it in place.
This type of floor installation suffers from a number of problems. First, the floor construction requires two separate concrete pours, one for the initial recess sub-floor and a second to complete the floor after the cabinet or house walls are installed. Furthermore, the conventional floor designs inevitably create a collection basin or region between the separate concrete pours which holds water and other liquids. This provides a very effective but unwelcome environment for bacterial growth which is a very undesirable condition in food plants, in that it compromises food safety. Moreover, given that the initial concrete recess is typically at a fixed depth and the angle iron gridwork slopes to the central floor drain, the depth of the floor “thins out” or decreases in depth toward the drain. This thinning decreases the integrity of the subfloor and can lead to floor break-up or “crumbling” which eventually causes the underlying gridwork to sag. Once this occurs, the tread plate can be bent or deformed under the weight of the food carriers and/or forklifts, causing floor concavities which do not drain. Such a deformed floor condition will often hold water (known as “ponding”) which again is very undesirable from the standpoint of food safety.
The following references describe conventional food processing cabinets or houses and the floors thereof: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,722,287; 5,775,847; 5,398,598; 2,505,973; and 2,352,590.